


Loose Springs

by Flammenkobold



Category: Rusty Quill Gaming (Podcast)
Genre: Angst, Hopeful Ending, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-10
Updated: 2019-12-10
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:01:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21748693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flammenkobold/pseuds/Flammenkobold
Summary: Zolf has a confession to make. Wilde runs out of words. Not all confessions end in a happily ever after, even if the feelings are reciprocrated. Sometimes the mission does come first.
Relationships: Zolf Smith/Oscar Wilde
Comments: 5
Kudos: 72





	Loose Springs

**Author's Note:**

> Have some organically grown angst.

He knew admitting to his feelings was going to be a bit of a mess. He hadn’t been wrong about that. Still, Zolf had decided he was tired and done with keeping secrets and his own feelings bottled up. Nothing good would come out of it and this way at least Oscar would know. He did now, and by the looks of it needed to work through his own emotions over the confession.

Zolf didn’t expect a reciprocation, neither did he expect to be turned down outright. Things were complicated, what with the end of the world going on and Wilde needing to keep a lot of his own secrets by necessity - their own feelings for each other aside.

But the silence between them was stretching, while Oscar stared at a point above Zolf’s head.

“Oscar-”

“Don’t,” he snapped, the muscles on the still working side of his face going taut.

Zolf sighed impatiently. “Wilde, then.”

Wilde closed his eyes briefly, swallowing whatever emotion he was going through and nodded. “I can’t-”

“No, it’s- I get it.” Maintaining some distance between them was perhaps a good idea.

Wilde looked at him gratefully, and he chose his next words carefully. “I do care about you, a great deal, but-”

“The mission comes first.”

Wilde nodded tightly. “And I fear if I- if we- I had trouble staying objective before and I can’t allow that to happen again. And neither should you.”

Once upon a time Zolf would’ve gone defensive at this, would’ve argued back, but he traced the scar running down the side of Oscar’s face with his eyes, took in the gauntness of his cheeks and how his skin was still far too pale. Remembered the moment of sharp fear of losing him, long before he’d grown  _ those  _ feelings.

“Yes, I know.”

A myriad of emotions briefly flickered over Wilde’s face, the only one of which Zolf picked out was relief, and what he thought was traces of sadness over his agreement.

“I just-,” Zolf started, frustrated at himself for not being more eloquent at this. “I wanted to let you know.”

“And I’m grateful for it.”

“Right.”

There was an awkward pause between them, again.

“So- uh… I’m going to make some lunch.”

“Right.”

“Anything you’d like in particular?”

“I- no, it’s fine.”

“Alright then.”

“Yes. Though if you could make me a tea-.”

“Got you,” Zolf replied. That he could do, that was easier than having this conversation.

Wilde turned his full attention back to the stack of papers in front of him and Zolf took the silent dismissal gladly before he could say anything more awkward, and headed out.

“Zolf,” Wilde called after him suddenly, when he was already half out of the door; so Zolf turned and stuck his head back in.

“Yes?”

Wilde looked at him directly this time, pale blue eyes fixed on him in a way that made Zolf feel quietly thrilled.

“When… when this over, I’d really like to continue this conversation. Because I-” his lips thinned again, his eyes flickering away as if embarrassed, like for once he was the one out of words. Zolf understood him anyway.

“Got you,” he said, softly - didn’t know what else to say.

He told himself he was too old to have a spring in his step when he walked towards the kitchen. Perhaps it was just a loose screw. He had promised himself to stop lying to himself though and so he discarded that idea. No, that was definitely him being foolishly happy over such a small thing.

Wilde had said when, not if, and so perhaps he wasn’t the only one around foolish enough to hope.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Loose Springs [podfic]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24291976) by [KD reads (KDHeart)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KDHeart/pseuds/KD%20reads)




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